Billy collins boxer biography graphic organizer

Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 390 Medal of Honor recipients interred in VA national cemeteries.

»Medal of Honor recipients buried or memorialized here:

Captain Willibald C. Bianchi (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor for service in the U.S. Army, 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, for actions near Bagac, Province of Bataan, Philippine Islands, February 3, 1942. He was captured in April 1942 and held as a prisoner of war. Bianchi died at sea, along with other prisoners on the Japanese transport ship, Enoura Maru, in January 1945. He is memorialized in Section MA, Site 39.

Private Erwin Jay Boydston (Boxer Rebellion). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps for actions in Peking, China, July 21–August 17, 1900. Boydston died in 1957 and is buried in Section G, Site 703.

Private First Class William Robert Caddy (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in recognition of gallantry and self-sacrifice to protect others during the seizure of Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, March 3, 1945. Caddy is buried in Section C, Site 81.

First Lieutenant George Ham Cannon (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Battery H, 6th Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, in recognition of courageous disregard of his own condition during the bombardment of Sand Island, Midway Islands, December 7, 1941. Cannon was mortall

I recently received an email from a junior high teacher who was looking for some support as she began her unit of study on biographies.  She wrote that she was “looking to push this biographical piece to be heartfelt.”  She wanted her students to think about “why we remember these people” and to “engage in research that goes beyond the computer.”

I immediately thought of an article I had recently read in the Winter 2013-2014 edition of the Illinois Reading Council Journal, titled “Biographies in Focus: A Framework for Supporting Biographical Writing in the Classroom (written by Donna E. Werderich, Alice B. McGinty, and Barb Rosenstock).  The authors of the article outlined several ways that students might focus their biographical writing:

• focus on an object or item that was important to the person and illustrates their life in some essential way
• focus on a special event that had wide reaching implications for that person’s life
• focus on their relationship with another person
• focus on an interest or important hobby that contributed to that person’s accomplishments
• focus on an essential character trait that defines that person

So, in an effort to help the students think about these different approaches, the classroom teacher and I will first arm ourselves with mentor texts which illustrate each approach.

The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins tells the story of Kate Sessions and how she created Balboa Park in San Diego.  The book focuses on her passion for and interest in botany.

Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic by Robert Burleigh is a biographical book about Amelia Earhart which focuses only on one special event, her flight across the Atlantic Ocean.  It is written like a narrative and begins, “From high in the cockpit, a woman gazes down.  It is exactly 7:12 p.m.  The sunset ripples over the rough-hewn airfield.  Good-bye, my friends, good-bye!̶

Provide students with a selection of texts about Thanksgiving. Invite students to partner-read their selected books, considering these questions:

• From whose perspective is the story told?

• Whose voices are active and passive?

• What words are used to describe the groups?

• Whose story has the most detail?

• What details were offered or implied in the text or illustrations about Thanksgiving and each group’s lifestyle (e.g., food, clothing, beliefs, and traditions)?

• Are the illustrations accurate? How do you know?

Next, share with students texts that are #OwnVoices. Oyate and American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) both provide critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books.

Select one of the #OwnVoice texts to read, like Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message, a children's picture book, by Chief Jake Swamp. This version of the Iroquois Thanksgiving Address, or Ganohonyohk, is written especially for children who want to know more about Six Nations Iroquois spirituality. The Thanksgiving Address is one of the key speeches of the Six Nations Iroquois.

End the session by allowing students to share "What are some things you are thankful for and where do they come from?"

The Hollywood Academy released the 2015 nominations this past week, and their choices for best picture, best actor, and best director lit a firestorm on social media about the lack of diversity in their choices.

Some of the heated discussions called into question the make-up of the Academy, which according to a  2014 Los Angeles Times article is:

• 93 percent white
• 76 percent male
• Average age of 63

The percentages that make up the homogenized Academy bear a striking resemblance to the make-up in the canon of literature traditionally taught in high school English classrooms, a list of works dominated by white male writers. There are numerous reasons as to why the literature is singular in gender and race: politics, economics, culture, and textbooks play a part. The most probable explanation on why the traditional canon endures, however, may be as simple as teachers teaching the books they were taught.

Even the average age of the dead white male writers in the canon is the same as those in the Academy. A sampling of traditionally assigned authors at the time of their deaths (offered in no particular order) is the average age as the members in the Academy=63 years: John Milton (72), Percy Bysshe Shelley (30), F. Scott Fitzgerald (44), Dylan Thomas (39), Arthur Miller (90), William Shakespeare (52), John Keats (27) Ernest Hemingway (62), William Faulkner (65), John Steinbeck (66) William Blake (70), George Orwell (47), and TS Eliot (77).

My observation that older white male literature dominates the curriculum is nothing new, and while there are there are glimmers of diversity, authorship bears little resemblance to readership. Occasionally, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, and August Wilson pop up to address racial diversity, while the inclusion of Mary Shelley, Harper Lee, Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters are worthwhile contributions to gender equity.

At the same time, there is a growing body of popular young adult literature from authors representing di